Church Records

Church records often predate civil registration, which makes them the earliest written trace of many families. Membership rolls, baptisms and burials were kept congregation by congregation. A family's church also says a good deal about where it came from, since denominations traveled with settlement routes.

The congregations here are mainly Baptist, Presbyterian and Cumberland Presbyterian, in Gibson and Carroll counties. Several of these histories were written for an anniversary. They trace the founding families and the building itself as much as the membership. Burial grounds are frequently attached, so check the cemetery listings for the same congregation.